The New York Facial aims to turn toxins into treatment for city dwellers

The term ‘facial’ is usually associated with words such as ‘relaxation’, ‘cleansing’, and ‘rejuvenation’.

But dermal science skincare brand NIOD has flipped the script on facials in its latest campaign, creating a stomach-turning representation of the skin treatment that aims to illustrate the damaging effects of pollutants on the skin.

‘The New York Facial’, created by Uncommon, features a hero social film that takes inspiration from the popular beauty and skincare tutorials seen across our social feeds. But instead of slathering their face with luxurious creams and hydrating oils, the film captures attention by depicting a plethora of harmful toxins, all of which are in fact seeping into the skin of city dwellers as they go about their daily lives.

With content designed to truly stop the scroll, being a far cry from the light, bright beauty content and glossy product shots typically seen on socials, ‘The New York Facial’ has been created to promote NIOD’s Superoxide Dismutase 3 Enzyme Mist (SDEM3). The mist is designed to prevent damage from environmental irritants, with research revealing air pollutants found in urban areas can increase pigmentation by over 20%.

Holding up a mirror to city living

Alongside teasers of the hero film, the campaign includes extensive creator activity across London, New York, Los Angeles and Toronto, with kits containing a mock ‘hazardous’ New York Facial product — which recipients are unable to open for fear of its extensive toxic ingredients — and a bottle of SDEM3.

Ellie Daghlian and Elisa Czerwenka, Creative Directors at Uncommon Creative Studio, said: “The industry playbook to launching a premium skincare product isn’t to rub toxins on someone’s face, but that’s exactly why we did it. We wanted to hold up a mirror to city living and make the invisible impossible to ignore. The New York Facial is beauty content you can’t just scroll past — because it makes you feel something you probably didn’t want to. NIOD are pioneers in science-backed skincare, we wanted to disrupt the sea of picture-perfect skincare content to put the benefits of this innovative product front and centre.”